Epilogue
Stardate 59501.2, Starbase Icarus
"That was harsh." Bullock said.
"I'm not sure what worries me more, the line of questioning that Captain Williams had, or that I agree with you." zhNon said.
It had taken over a week, but Aegis had finally made it to Icarus. Upon their arrival, the crew had been allowed shore-leave while the department heads made themselves available as witnesses for the inquiry. Theus had turned himself in for assaulting a prisoner, and Keln was immediately taken into holding. Within a day, the questioning had started, and Captain Williams had been relentless.
"I didn't realize that Starfleet even had laws against that." Contreras said.
"Destroying a planetary body is actually a big deal, regardless if life is present or not." Utan said.
They were all waiting in a conference room. Each had been called to testify to their Captain's fitness, and to recount the events as best they knew them.
"This is just a witch hunt!" Mok grumbled. "The Captain did the best he could, he was amazing."
"Still, you have to admit that the way he ran the ship was surprising. No command or combat experience, and yet he's making decisions that would make Dominion War veterans approve." Bloss commented.
"I have some thoughts on that." Goritan said quietly.
"Gor?" zhNon asked.
"…I don't have proof, but I've been in Security long enough to hear things. From the moment we've worked with him, the Captain has been utilizing advanced tactics. He knows science disciplines that are practically newly discovered, and can implement them into our existing technology in ways we haven't tested."
"What are you saying?" Contreras asked.
"There are rumors. Rumors about a secret section that Starfleet will not acknowledge nor deny. They have virtually no oversight, and are called upon to deal with the most serious of threats to the Federation. They're comparable to the Tal Shiar or the former Obsidian Order."
"That would make sense." Bloss said.
"What do you mean, Chief?"
"I analyzed the program that the Centurion used to override our command protocols. The code has an algorithm only Starfleet uses, and what's more, it wasn't uploaded. It was already there. In the computer core, waiting to be activated."
"As was the chemical composition and molecular structure of the stimulants I injected the rescue team with." Utan said. "There are very few medication that are universally accepted into the bodies of the multiple species within the Federation. But they automatically were tailored for them once I told the computer who was on the team.
Goritan looked to zhNon and asked, "Why would Starfleet give that level of authorization to a Romulan? How would he know what is in our database?"
zhNon's head swam, she couldn't make sense of what was going on and didn't have time when a notification sounded and informed them to report to the inquiry room.
"We have to bring this information to the attention of Captain Williams." She said.
They all returned. Theus was sitting with his counsel, and in front of him, sat three Starfleet Captains, with Williams at the head. After everyone had entered and settled, Williams began to speak.
"I would just like to say, before our recommendations are read, that this board takes no pleasure in this inquiry. Starfleet entrusts its ship captains to make the hard decisions, but that is tempered with the fact that they must also be correct. Commander Eridos, please stand."
Theus stood, no emotion on his face.
"Captain." zhNon said while standing.
The Tellarite Captain to Williams' left looked extremely disappoint and said, "These proceeding are not subject to objections, Lieutenant Commander!"
"I apologize, but-"
"Sit down, or we will hold you in contempt and have you removed!" The other Captain said.
Williams gave her a hard look and said, "It is the judgement of this inquiry that you, Commander Theus L. Eridos, Captain of the USS Aegis, be found-"
"Pardon the interruption." A middle-aged man in civilian attire said as he entered the room. Next to him was Keln, who had his hand restraints removed.
"What is this meaning of this?" Williams roared. "Why is that prisoner in here unrestrained and what give you the right to barge in on these proceedings?"
"Sir." The civilian said. "What gives me the right, sir."
He stepped forward with Keln and stood next to the counselor representing Theus, handing him a pad and gesturing for the bailiff to take one to the board members.
"My name is Jacob Lawrence, Deputy Chief of Starfleet Operations." He said.
The board members immediately stiffened. The civilian counterpart was chosen by an elected civilian official and as such, automatically outranked even the highest Starfleet Admiral.
"Enclosed in those documents are orders for the immediate release of Keln and Commander Eridos."
"He can't be released." Williams said. "This is an inquiry for recommendations to Starfleet Command for violations of-"
"You will also find a full pardon. For any and all infractions incurred during his latest mission to RSS-2398 also known as the moon Lleiset." Lawrence said.
He started to leave, and when he was almost at the door, Williams called out, "There is no pardon for Keln. He will have to answer for his crimes."
Lawrence looked to Keln and said, "Authorization 8392.1102. You are declassified."
Williams looked at Keln and asked, "What exactly does that mean, Centurion?"
Keln stood straight and said, "I'm not a Centurion. My name is Captain Keln Baresio, Starfleet Intelligence."
"You'll find that he was under orders for everything he did, Captain." Lawrence said and walked out.
Starbase Icarus, Residential District
Theus walked along the perfectly manicured and spartan sidewalk that led to the apartment loft he was assigned angrily. After the events of the inquiry, he was reluctantly released by Captain Williams. He still had an abundance of paperwork to fill out, and hadn't had the time to catch up with his crew or Keln.
"Captain!"
Theus stopped for a moment to see zhNon running up to him.
"What is it?" He asked once she reached him.
"Sir I…they've reinstated your command. The Aegis is yours again."
"You came all this way to tell me that?" He asked.
"No." She said and sighed. "You and Keln, you're both SI, aren't you?"
Theus didn't even try to think of an excuse. "We are. Our mission go back to when we were teenagers and first joined."
"And you knew who he was?"
"From the moment Admiral Harris showed me his profile." Theus said. "He's not a Romulan, but no amount of cosmetic surgery could fool me."
"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked emphatically.
"I wanted to zhNon. If nothing else, believe that I did. I knew he had to be on some sort of operation when he came aboard, and couldn't jeopardize that. He was assigned to us because I have the clearance, and SI Command knew I wouldn't interfere."
She shook her head. "I gave you so much more to deal with, when you were just following orders. I apologize for that, sir."
"Don't," Theus said and place a hand on her shoulder, "you can't trust someone who isn't being honest with you. I've already informed Major Bullock, so I'll leave the rest of the crew to you."
"Yes sir." She said. "Chief reports that we will be ready to get underway in approximately 54 more hours."
"Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to speak with someone."
Theus left her and took the small lift to his unit. He entered the spacious loft, that had an amazing view of the lakes and skyline as hover vehicles flew by. The internal environment of the starbase was adjusting to twilight, and the containment dome was becoming transparent so that the stars could be seen.
"Finally!" Theus heard Keln's voice from the main room.
"I've been trying to find you all afternoon." Theus said, the agitation clear in his voice.
"I had a medical appointment." He said while exiting from the room. He had obviously been in the fresher as he had a towel around his head and was in a casual blouse and loose-fitting slacks. "Took forever to have all those cosmetics removed." He said with a slight chuckle.
Theus looked around and saw that Keln had been here for a while. He had attempted to cook instead of using the replicator, and there were several empty bottles of the Romulan Ale C'Ulos had gifted them.
"Are you drunk?"
"No…maybe." Keln said and winked.
He walked over to a table and poured a large drink, slightly spilling it and having to steady his balance after he was finished.
"You have got to try this!" He shouted. "Those Lle…Lee lees…those Romulans know how to make some ale."
"I'm fine." Theus said.
Keln shrugged and drained half the glass. He pulled it away and made a grunting noise.
"Your loss. Hey, how do I look?" He asked. He pulled the towel from his head and threw it at Theus.
"Blinding as usual." Theus said while looking at his perfectly shaven head that no longer had a cosmetic forehead ridge. "So are you going to explain yourself?"
"For?" He asked and took another drink.
"You commandeered my ship."
"I did."
"Threatened my crew."
"Yup."
"You could've been killed!" Theus shouted.
"But I wasn't." He laughed again.
"Why? Damn you Keln tell me what they hell you were thinking."
Keln continued to smile. He sat the drink down and walked over to the balcony door. He started to chuckle again, only this time it was higher. He suddenly stopped, and punched through the glass, destroying the entire pane. He didn't cry out, but instead turned his back to the wall and slid down.
"What is wrong with you?" Theus asked, sounding more concerned.
He pick up the towel that was thrown at him and walked over to Keln to wrap his hand. Green blood was starting to seep through, so he went to the kitchen and brought back a med-kit. He brought out the dermal regenerator and began to run it over his hand.
"This will be fun to explain to the Quarter-master. Not even assigned this suite for a day and I've already-"
"Can we not?" Keln said suddenly. "I-I don't want to fight with you Eri."
Theus went silent. He finished healing Keln and started to sit beside him, but not before grabbing the bottle of ale. He took a long swig and said, "That's not going to work. You're going to tell me why you-"
"Because I'm not gonna let you die. Not while I can do something about it." Keln said. His eyes were wet, and beads of sweat were beginning to form on his forehead.
"How drunk are you?" Theus asked.
"Not nearly enough, higher metabolism remember?"
Theus did remember, but through the broken window, and nice breeze was blowing. He looked at Keln, and noticed his breathing had increase.
"When was the last time you meditated?" He asked.
"When did you last make me?"
"Keln?" Theus said strongly. "No wondered your mood is all over the place. You know how dangerous it is when you-"
"I don't need to meditate." He said.
Theus furrowed his brow and carefully asked, "Has it been seven years already?"
"Longer."
"We need to get you to sickbay." Theus said and started to stand. Before he left, Keln grabbed his hand.
"I said, I don't need to meditate, I don't need to go to sickbay." He said while pulling Theus to sit back down. He changed the grip he held Theus' hand with so that his pointer and middle finger grabbed his. "It's like this all the time."
"All the…what are you talking about?" Theus asked.
"The joys of being V'tosh ka'tur." He said.
Theus furrowed his brow. "The universal translator didn't catch that."
"That's 'cause it used to be a pejorative for Vulcans without logic. But a century or so ago when more of us began to reproduce with emotional species, the Medical Directorate classified it as a syndrome. It's not just because I don't follow Surak's teachings, my human side only prevents me from dying. And that's about all I got from it. The way my brain is wired, everything is dialed up. Emotions, psionics, and natural instincts. "
"…You never told me this." Theus said.
"I didn't want you to think…to…"
Keln stopped talking and brought his right hand up to Theus' temple. Theus could feel him reaching out, and allowed him. Letting the emotions he couldn't put into words flow into his mind directly.
"We know why this doesn't work." Theus said. "It's why we agreed to-"
"I know, I know." Keln said, sounding frustrated himself. "But you almost died, and I can't stop thinking about it. Compared to that, nothing matters to me anymore. I don't need to meditate, Eri. You're not leaving for a few days, and we can go back to the rules after that."
He stood up and extended his two fingers. Theus did the same, and took them.